It was a homecoming for U.S. women's national team head coach Emma Hayes on Thursday night, as DICK's Sporting Goods Park in Denver is where she coached her first game after taking charge of the program last year.
Now, a year and then some change later, her squad won again, having no issues is dispatching Ireland, 4-0. Although the USWNT struggled to finish some clear first-half opportunities, they did manage to roll to a 2-0 first-half lead en route to the victory, kicking off the first of three friendlies in the course of seven days.
Once again, Hayes experimented with some new faces in the lineup, and gave three players their first senior USWNT caps - goalkeeper Claudia Dickey and defender Lilly Reale, and then Jordyn Bugg as a late second-half sub.
The biggest roster highlight, though, was the return to the starting XI for Rose Lavelle. After a long six months battling back from injury, Lavelle was on the pitch as the most-capped player in the XI. She picked up right where she left off - which was last December - scoring and chipping in an assist for the USWNT. The goal was her first for the USWNT since January 2023.
Her presence in the midfield was clearly missed, but she jumped back in with a newfound leadership ability and eye for the goal. On average, this squad had an average of 31.9 caps.
Alyssa Thompson, Ally Sentnor and Michelle Cooper were the front three on Thursday, the first time all of them have started alongside each other. Sentnor, the reigning U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year, was slotted into the No. 9 spot for the first time and found herself in some promising spots in front of goal.
Ireland had a tough time containing the USWNT on all sides of the ball, and led by the return of Lavelle, the USWNT won easily, with goals from Avery Patterson, Sam Coffey, Lavelle and Alyssa Thompson.
Until the second half, the USWNT's attacking three were struggling to finish their opportunities. Portland Thorns midfielder Coffey took matters into her own hands, and scored in 49th minute to give her side momentum - it was her third international goal.
GOAL looks at the winners and losers from the USWNT's 4-0 win over Ireland.
